All Saints lights up Crusaders, 82-47

All Saints coach Eddie Francis had been waiting for his team to show how well it can shoot.

On Tuesday, Bishop Gorman found out.

Aston Francis hit 4 of 6 3-pointers to score a game-high 20 points and the Trojans shot 60 percent from the field to run away for an 82-47 victory over their cross-town rivals in the first round of the TAPPS 2-4A tournament at Bruce G. Brookshire Family Student Athletic Center.

“Our kids are capable of playing at a high level and it’s been a little disappointing that we haven’t exhibited that every game,” coach Francis said. “We’ve been saying for about eight to 10 games, we’re due to go off. We have very capable shooters and tonight it seemed like all of them hit shots.”

All Saints’ win propels the sixth-seeded Trojans (22-14) into the next round against No. 3 Dallas Parish Episcopal at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The Crusaders, who lost a three-way seeding playoff with All Saints and Grace Community, ended their season 14-16. Ben Ashworth led Gorman with 13 points while fellow senior Brandon Lackner tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Ahead 39-26 at halftime, the Trojans shot 16 for 21 in the second half and finished 6 for 10 from long range for the game. Jaired Maddox added 19 points, Brice Borgeson scored 11 and Clayton Smith chipped in 10. Luke Lee had a team-best eight rebounds.

“We left them open and they also just made them,” Gorman coach Paul Drake said. “We didn’t play well at all. We didn’t rotate. We didn’t communicate very well on defense. That’s the most points we’ve given up all year.”

Aston Francis, who came off the bench, added six rebounds and five assists. Spencer Ball supplied seven assists to go with seven points, five rebounds and three steals for All Saints.

“We just got better looks than we got last time,” said coach Francis, whose team won the first meeting between the two 42-27. “The good thing we did was we got more looks. We played quicker, we pushed the ball.

“Paul Drake’s done a great job with Gorman. They have a bright future. He’s a good coach.”

The Trojans coach added that his team, which features predominantly sophomores, wanted to win the game for the three seniors — Trevor Long, Ruben DeLong and Collin Walker.

“That was amazing,” DeLong said of the win. “It was just a team win, really. This is a good lead-in to the rest of the tournament.”

All Saints now has two games to secure a playoff spot. A victory Friday or a win against the Grace-Carrollton Prince of Peace loser on Saturday sends the Trojans to the postseason.

“I really think we stepped it up offensively tonight,” said Long, who had five rebounds and three assists. “We haven’t scored this much in a while.”

All Saints reached the 80-point plateau for the sixth time this season but first since Dec. 27. The Trojans trailed for 33 seconds all game and led the whole way after Aston Francis scored his first basket on a 3-pointer with 1:36 left in the first quarter to make it 9-6.

Sean Goforth hit a step-back 3 to pull Gorman within 21-18 midway through the second before All Saints used an 11-0 run in 91 seconds to take control.

After halftime, the Trojans kept pulling away, using a 16-5 advantage on the glass in the second half to lead by as many as 39. All Saints outrebounded Gorman 37-21 for the game.

The Crusaders graduate four seniors, including Ashworth and Lackner. Ashworth averaged more than 20 points per game, including nine 30-point games, and Lackner pulled down 10 rebounds per game.

“They meant a ton,” Drake said. “We’ll definitely miss that leadership quality of both of those kids.”

While Gorman struggled shooting late in the season, All Saints appears to have found its touch at the right time. The Trojans had nine different players score and had more assists than missed shots in the second half.

“That’s the way I envisioned we would play all year so I was glad to see it,” coach Francis said. “I hope it continues.”